Why Some Are Upset that Peter Capaldi is the New 'Doctor Who'

On Sunday, it was announced that the 12th Doctor on the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who will be played by Peter Capaldi. Capaldi will take over for current Doctor Matt Smith in the series' Christmas special. The 55-year-old Scottish actor is a fairly big name in the UK, but not well known in the US, although he’s had small appearances in American shows and movies like Veep and World War Z.

He’s most famous for his starring role in the black comedy series The Thick of It, and he's also appeared in the Doctor Who universe on the episode "The Fires of Pompeii" and an entire season of the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood. This is a huge role for Capaldi, and since the role is pretty open to interpretation, there’s a lot of questions about what direction Capaldi will take with the famous alien traveler through time and space.

The general reaction to the new Doctor on Twitter was that of pleasant surprise, but fans did have some concerns: Will the new doctor keep his accent? Why isn’t he a woman or person of color? Is he too old? Will he curse? Just how hot is he? Ah, Twitter, always asking the important questions. Here's a few reactions: